My friends, welcome back to another edition of The Friday Read, your guide to the latest and greatest menswear and gear for your weekend. I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly got rugged menswear top of mind this weekend, and for a couple reasons. In dealing with the heat in NYC and Michigan (as part of a family vacation I’m taking Up North!), I’ve been adding some items from the Filson New Arrivals section to my wish list — I’m not sure about you, but I’m definitely coveting some of the best fall menswear right about now. Do you have any favorites from the venerable Pacific Northwest retailer?

Shop Filson’s New Arrivals

Rugged fall gear awaits you

That brings me to another point, and one that’s especially fitting given the Filson heritage of making durable outdoor gear. I’ve got some essentials packed with me this weekend to head “Up North,” as we call the northern Lower Peninsula of my home state of Michigan. It’s my first time back in a year, and quite a bit has changed since on, well, all fronts. I can’t wait to see family (and some college friends prior to that!), and I’ll be outfitted the right way all the while (head to Filson to outfit yourself for the season ahead, while we’re here). Beyond that, I’ll highlight a few of my favorite seasonal picks below. And one last word to the wise: If you prefer your menswear shopping with a side of music and craft beer, as I do, then I’d head over to my music-menswear-craft beer newsletter, The Style Guide In Brief, which features a bit of all three (and Saturday’s will take a look at the new album from The Killers. one of my favorite bands, in particular). The choice is all yours, but I don’t think you can go wrong. In the meantime, here’s the rest of your Friday Read. Cheers!

• Now, it’s not every day that one of the best menswear sales comes around. And it’s not every single day that Aether Apparel, makers of some of the best rugged performance menswear out there, drops a sale that’ll make you sit up and take notice. The brand, which I talked about here in a piece on the best men’s gear for spring, is offering up to 60 percent off jackets, sweaters, vests, tees, pants, bags, and more for men (and women), now through August 15th. It’s a sale packed with quality essentials that’s truly not to be missed. Start shopping!

Shop the Aether Apparel End-of-Season Sale

Score great deals on the best menswear

• Speaking of great deals on great gear, how’s this for one of the best new menswear collections around? Just as we talked about earlier with Filson, it’s high time to start planning, slowly but surely, for early fall. Head over to Grayers, makers of classic chinos, tailored Oxford shirts and super-soft flannel shirts, to get some of the best early fall gear right now. It’s hard to pass up rugged henleys, easy-to-layer shirting and timeless chinos, right? There’s no wrong way to go with Grayers New Arrivals, in my opinion.
• Speaking of rugged henleys, here’s yet another way to outfit yourself in style this season. Over at Fatherly, a really great parenting and lifestyle site for new dads and guys of any age, I wrote all about the best henleys for early fall from some of my favorite brands, including Buck Mason and seven other standout favorites. Shop accordingly, my friends.

Get yourself a Buck Mason henley now

Add a prime fall layer to your closet

So, that’s where we’ll leave things in today’s Friday Read — that gives you more than enough time to shop for the weekend, does it not? I’ll give you one last recommendation before Friday kicks off in earnest. You’re going to want to keep your grooming on-point from summer into fall, and you should do that by checking out my guide to the best natural deodorant from American Provenance over in this blog post. Keep it classy and sharp, folks. Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out tomorrow’s Style Pick of the Week!